


It's weird and it's wonderful, dear

by sdwolfpup



Series: The Formula One verse [4]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Babies, F/M, Future Fic, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:09:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24882091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sdwolfpup/pseuds/sdwolfpup
Summary: The December after Brienne’s fourth world championship, she shook Jaime awake one gray morning and said, “I think I’m ready to have a baby.”
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Series: The Formula One verse [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1647262
Comments: 88
Kudos: 204





	It's weird and it's wonderful, dear

**Author's Note:**

  * For [forbiddenfantasies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/forbiddenfantasies/gifts).



> Forbiddenfantasies asked on tumblr: "I wanna know more about their future. When do they have those babies? Do they impact Brienne's racing career? Girls? Boys? Both? Does she win more championships? Do their babies race?"
> 
> Title from an un-published song by Colin Meloy called "Baby Song."

The winter after Brienne’s fourth world championship, she shook Jaime awake one gray morning and said, “I think I’m ready to have a baby.”

She’d be thirty-four next month, and Jaime was forty-two and they both could feel the pressure of time weighing on them. She never felt pressure from him, though. He’d asked her again about kids one time after last season and when she’d said “Not yet,” he’d just smiled and let it go.

But her knees hurt this morning. She’d done something odd in her training with Syrio last week and they’d been sort of twinge-y since then, not enough to slow her down but enough to remind her that recovery was starting to take a little bit longer. Brienne wasn’t old, but she was older, and she didn’t want to wait much longer.

Jaime blinked and looked at her, groggy with sleep, one side of his face still sort of mashed from where it had been pressed into his pillow. “Wha?”

Brienne kissed him. “I want to try to have a baby.”

That seemed to do the trick and his half-lidded eyes went wide. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah.”

“With me?”

She snorted and poked his chest. “No, with Bronn.”

Jaime grinned and wrapped her in his arms, tugging her on top of him. “I knew it. You’ll have to settle for me.”

“If you insist,” she said, and he had, several times that morning.

* * *

That afternoon, as they were heating up Elenda's homemade chicken soup for lunch, Jaime leaned back against the counter and stared at her. “You’ll have to stop racing when you get pregnant.”

“I know,” she said, stirring the pot.

“Do you think you’ll go back afterward?”

She glanced at him but he was only curious, there was no expectation either way in his eyes. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “That’s part of why I waited so long.”

“You don’t have to do this. We can keep waiting. You’re healthy and still plenty young enough.”

“I want to. Especially if we’re going to have more than one.”

“Yeah?” he said, and his tone was casual but he looked so thrilled by the idea she laughed a little.

“Let’s see how the first one goes, though.”

“That’s fair. When do you want to start trying?”

Brienne shrugged, pulled the pot off the burner and shut off the stove. “I’ll get my IUD out next week and then, after that, I guess?”

“Okay,” he said, a smile breaking like the dawn across his handsome face. “Okay.”

* * *

Brienne found out she was pregnant that September in Harrenhal. After the IUD was removed, it had taken a few months for her cycle to return, and then another few months for it to be semi-regular, so when she missed her period the weekend before the Harrenhal Grand Prix, she'd felt a little frisson of terror and excitement but had given it another week just in case. When there was no change the Friday of free practice, Brienne had sent Pia out to get a pregnancy test, so Brienne or Jaime wouldn't be seen by any lurking media.

Pia knocked on their door and when Brienne opened it, the other woman was beaming at her. "Tell me second, after Jaime," Pia demanded. 

"How about third after my dad?"

Pia narrowed her eyes but she nodded. "Deal. But no later than third!" 

Their room had been silent as Brienne and Jaime stared at each other while they waited for the test results. When her timer went off, they just kept staring at each other. "You look," she told Jaime. 

"Let's look together," he suggested. 

She was glad, in the end, they did, because Jaime couldn't speak at all when he read it, he just covered his mouth with his hand and then started laughing. 

Brienne wasn't much better. "Holy shit," she said at the clear, blue word: _Pregnant_. "Holy shit." 

It took them five minutes before either of them could move beyond that.

* * *

It took them an hour before Brienne texted her dad she wanted to talk to him and could he please call her when he had a minute. She and Jaime were still in bed, the sheets pulled up around their naked bodies. Jaime kept rubbing his hand over the smooth, flat space just below her navel. _There's a baby in there_ , he thought. _Our baby._

It was utterly normal and entirely miraculous all at once. Jaime wasn't sure he'd ever stop smiling. 

When Selwyn called, Brienne put him on speaker. "Hi, Dad," she said, smiling, too. 

"Hi, short stuff. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's good. Just here with Jaime. We were hoping we could talk to you for a couple of minutes."

"Of course. Hi, Jaime."

"Good morning," Jaime said cheerfully. It was a wonder Selwyn couldn't figure out the news just from the radiant energy the two of them were emanating. 

"So, Dad," Brienne said, taking a breath. She squeezed Jaime's shoulder and he pressed a kiss to her jaw. "I'm, uh, pregnant."

It took ten minutes and Elenda stepping in with a worried "What's going on?" before Selwyn stopped crying.

* * *

Brienne didn't finish out the year. It didn't matter - she secured her fifth and final championship at the end of October, and when she had unexpected bleeding after that race, they'd both decided it wasn't worth the risk to run the last two Grands Prix. Brienne hated not racing, nonetheless. Jaime did what he could to distract her, but though she kept exercising and she flew to both of the final races, he could see how much it weighed on her to be stuck in the paddock while Edric Dayne represented LanniStar on his own. Edric had joined their team last year when Loras had retired, and he was an excellent driver, though not as good at being a number two as Loras had been.

"Looks like he's going to get his wish," Brienne said as they watched him waving from the podium, having taken P-2 in King's Landing. 

"You wanted to bring Lyanna on for her rookie season next year anyway," Jaime reminded her gently. "It all works out." 

Brienne just frowned, her hands folded protectively over her abdomen. Jaime covered her hands with his, and when she sighed and laid her head on his shoulder, he knew she'd be okay.

* * *

In June the next year, Brienne gave birth to a healthy baby girl. The only one who wasn't crying when they handed the baby off to Jaime to hold for the first time was the baby herself, who blinked up at her father with huge, blue eyes and looked, on the whole, rather shocked and annoyed at the turn of events of her life so far. 

Jaime pressed his nose to the soft, pale fuzz of hair on her head and breathed her in and whispered a promise in her ear that he would be the best father he could possibly be. The warm bundle gave a soft, gaspy little sigh and relaxed into his arms.

* * *

The rest of that year they were exhausted and freaked out and deliriously happy by turns, the three of them figuring out how to be a family, their extended family stepping in at every possible opportunity. Annie Lannister-Tarth - named in honor of both their mothers, Liane and Joanna - had more uncles and aunts than she knew what to do with; and a cousin already thanks to Addam and Dacey who had crossed that particular milestone first. She was due for another cousin soon when Pod and Wenda's baby was due to be born in January. Even Drogo sent a Dothraki-themed mobile of horses and pleasant bells, and they hung it near Annie's window so the wind blowing in would gently make them chime. 

In October, Jaime and Brienne sat in bed and talked about the next year, while Annie mastered rolling over between them. 

"Lyanna's having a great rookie season," Jaime said. "Sunspear's sniffing around Edric to line up for Oberyn's spot. We could let him go and you could have your seat back if you want." 

"I want to," Brienne said, rubbing her hand over her daughter's back. "But what if I'm not as good as I was?"

"Then you're not. Will it be a waste if you don't win the world championship?"

Brienne sighed. "It's not that. I just don't want to go back and have people saying I never should have left, that I wasted my career having a child." 

"Fuck anybody that would say that," Jaime said firmly. 

She ran her free hand through his hair, cupped his cheek. "That's easy for you to say. Harder for me to."

"It's up to you, Brienne, what you want to do. But don't let what people might say keep you from living the life you want." He grinned a little. "Didn't we learn that lesson some time ago?"

She snorted and tugged him closer to kiss him. "We did. Stop being smug and check your daughter's diaper." He laughed against her lips and she kissed him a little longer.

* * *

As the first all-woman driving team in Formula One history, Brienne and Lyanna had a whirlwind year. Brienne came in third in the championship rankings, and though there were hints of "what would her life have been like if..." they were few and easily drowned out between the applause at her doing so well at all and the photos of her and Jaime with their blue-eyed, golden-haired daughter at the track, or being cooed over by any number of drivers and crew. Bronn was especially notorious for being so protective of Annie when Jaime and Brienne were occupied that other people would have to ask his permission to talk to her. 

December of that year, Jaime and Brienne were in their bed, Annie off for the weekend with Papa Selwyn and Grandma Elenda, and Jaime was drawing lazy circles on Brienne's bare back while their breathing and their heart rates slowed down again. 

"I think I'm done," Brienne murmured. 

"Gods, I hope so. I don't think I've got another round in me for a few hours at least."

Brienne laughed and poked him. "I didn't mean that, although, yes, me too. I meant racing. I'm done racing." 

Jaime stilled his hand and pressed the palm flat on her back. "You're sure?"

"Yes. I'll be thirty-seven next month. I've got five championships. Lyanna's poised to take the number one spot for LanniStar. And I want one more baby. It's time." 

"You want another baby?" Jaime asked, grinning at her. It was a rare sunny day, and though Jaime had far more gray than before, he still glimmered in the sunlight coming through the tall bay window. 

"That's what you took away from this?" she asked, dryly amused. 

"How do you want to announce your retirement?" 

"I'm sure Melisandre would be happy to get the scoop for WSN. We can do an interview with her. And then no more interviews for a year."

"Deal," Jaime said. He rubbed long, deep lines into her back, massaging her tense muscles. "What do you think you'll do next year, if you're not racing?"

"I don't know. What will you be doing?"

"I won't be anyone else's race engineer," he said. "If you're done, I'm done." 

Brienne furrowed her brow a little. "You know you don't have to do that."

"I know," he said, smiling easily. "I want to. Unless...how young is too young to start Annie in karting, you think?" 

Brienne snickered, wrapped her arm around Jaime and pulled him near. "Let's give her a chance to speak in sentences first." 

"If you insist."

She did, several more times that weekend.

**Author's Note:**

> Their second baby is a boy. I haven't come up with a name for him yet. Tywin never gets to meet either one.


End file.
